Michigan State University lures Parkinson's research team, $6.2 million grant, to Grand Rapids

Mark Copier | The Grand Rapids PressA new Parkinson's Disease project raises the profile of medical research in Grand Rapids. The MSU College of Human Medicine will have its headquarters here. The Parkinson's team will work with other researchers at the Van Andel Institute, foreground.GRAND RAPIDS — After a two-year courtship, Michigan State University has lured an elite group of research scientists away from the University of Cincinnati and its $6.2 million federal grant for studying Parkinson’s disease.

The transfer of the Cincinnati program looks to move Grand Rapids and West Michigan closer to becoming the regional health-care destination and hub for life-sciences envisioned a decade ago for the Medical Hill on Michigan Street NE.

“Science at this level is big business,” said Jeffrey Dwyer, MSU’s associate dean for research and community engagement. “They came to the conclusion this was the best place to come to continue their research to change the world.

“You don’t decide in a month to move your family, lab and grants.”

Dwyer said MSU is trying to recruit other top-notch researchers.

The research team’s relocation was announced Tuesday night at the MSU College of Human Medicine gala honoring Amway co-founder Richard DeVos and his wife, Helen, as Pillars of Medicine for their contributions to the health-science community.

By next summer, at least 12 researchers and their families will relocate to the area. They include four project leaders and their staffs.

“We want to learn more about the disease, what causes it, and minimize its effect and allow patients to live a better life,” said Jack Lipton, who joined MSU last spring as professor of neurology and chairman of the Division of Translational Science and Molecular Medicine.

“The opportunity to build a research program and have a say in its direction made MSU very attractive.”

Another motivating factor was the state-of-the-art Jay Van Andel Parkinson Research Lab, which will be part of the Van Andel Institute’s $170 million second phase expansion, said Timothy Collier, the team’s director and a professor of neurology allied with Cincinnati’s Gardner Center for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders.

Parkinson’s is personal to the Van Andel Institute, said Steve Heacock, chief administrative officer. CEO Dave Van Andel watched daily as Parkinson’s took the life of his father, Jay Van Andel, in December 2004 at age 80.

Jay Van Andel, who co-founded Amway with Richard DeVos, founded the Van Andel Institute in 1996.

The Grand Rapids institute supports the Van Andel Research Institute, which does biomedical studies focused on cancer and Parkinson’s with an emphasis on reaching clinical applications, and the Van Andel Education Institute, which bolsters science education and science-related professions.

The next step, Heacock said, is VAI’s ongoing recruitment of scientists and researchers to add to the Parkinson’s research.

“Part of what was intriguing is they didn’t balk at the investment required to achieve our goal of bringing a high level of Parkinson disease research to the area,” Collier said.

The team moved from Chicago to Cincinnati in 2005 and landed the Udall Center last fall, he said.

The transfer of the Udall grant will be pursued after Collier and the rest of the team relocates next summer.

Collier said while U-C’s initial investment was strong, it was not at the level needed to advance the team’s research.

Dwyer said the overall investment of $8 million to $10 million over the next five years is made possible by the MSU College of Human Medicine, the Van Andel Institute, Spectrum Health and Saint Mary’s Health Care.

“Our new Parkinson’s disease research cluster speaks to the caliber of researchers we are able to recruit to Grand Rapids because of our unique health-science partnerships,” said Marsha Rappley, dean of the MSU College of Human Medicine.

The MSU College of Human Medicine is moving its headquarters from East Lansing to Grand Rapids next year into the 181,000-square-foot Secchia Center, 15 Michigan St. NE.